Boston University School of Social Work
Department of Field Education
264 Bay State Road
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
T 617-353-3754
F 617-353-8348
www.bu.edu/ssw/academic/msw/field/
To:
Students Entering Advanced (Second) Year Placement in May or September
2015
From:
Field Education Department
Date:
December 2014
Re:
THE PLACEMENT PROCESS 2015
1.
During late November or December, please contact your advisor to begin the process of
discussing your learning needs and interests for your advanced (second) year placement. After
you and your advisor have discussed the type of placement which will best support your
learning, complete the Charles River Campus Advanced (Second) Year Placement Form (in this
packet) which includes a written placement profile incorporating the following:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
population
field of practice
intervention methods
size of setting; pace of work
a list of agency examples which fit the profile (optional)
A copy of your updated resume (including your current placement) must be submitted with
your completed form. Your completed form and resume should be e-mailed to
sswfed@bu.edu by January 16 . A resume worksheet is included in this packet for your
reference.
2.
In addition to talking with your advisor, you may want to contact students who are
currently in placement at types of agencies in which you might be interested. This information
is available using the Field Education database, SONIA. Directions on how to access SONIA are
here: http://www.bu.edu/ssw/crpacket2015/.
Do not call agencies, unless specifically requested to by Field Education staff.
3.
During December and in early January, Field Education staff will meet with students to
talk about their particular placement questions or concerns. In general, this is a good
time for the Field Education staff to share their ideas about types of agencies for
students to consider or to help students focus their exploration in realistic ways.
You can sign up for an appointment to meet with one of the Field Education staff on the
Field Education website at http://www.bu.edu/ssw/crpacket2015/. When you sign up
for an appointment, please keep the following in mind:

We recommend that you meet with your advisor as soon as possible, preferably
before you meet with a member of the Field Education staff. However, if you
cannot schedule an early appointment with your advisor, it’s fine to consult with
your advisor by phone or e-mail.

Please bring your field education portfolio and field placement form to your
meeting with the Field Education staff person.

Please sign up to meet with only one of the following:
Macro Practice or Management: Andrew Spooner
Clinical Practice: Judith Perlstein or Trudy Zimmerman
Lowy-GEM: Reeve Goldhaber
Southeastern Mass. or Rhode Island: Sonia Mee
Cape Cod: Deb Berglin
New Hampshire or Lowell-Merrimack Valley area: Terese Romano
4.
If you are planning to apply for a Certificate Program (e.g., Family Therapy, Trauma,
Behavioral Medicine, Human Service Management) or Specialization (e.g., clinical with
macro sub-specialization, group work, aging) you should indicate your interest on the
placement form. If you are in a dual degree program, please indicate this as well on the
placement form.
5.
If you are planning to do your placement in an alternative format (e.g. modified block or
12 month) please be sure to check the appropriate line on the form. Based on our
experience, many agencies cannot provide placements that begin in May and some
cannot provide a 12 month placement. In addition, students who will be in the field in
the summer are required to register for summer term field education, and will be
charged tuition on a per-credit basis.
6.
You should also be aware that a number of agencies require students to extend their
placement beyond May. Specifically, some residential, therapeutic and public schools
require interns to follow their academic calendar through early to mid-June. In those
situations, you would be able to participate in the BUSSW May graduation ceremony
although you would not receive your diploma until the placement is completed. You
will receive an incomplete in Field Education that will be changed to a pass once the
placement is completed.
7.
Placement forms are due to the Field Education Department no later than Friday,
January 16, 2015. Some clinical agencies may have an earlier interview timeline and
we will inform you by email of these as we learn about them.
8.
The Field Education Department will notify you by e mail or phone regarding the next
steps in arranging an interview at the agency to which we have sent your resume. Some
agencies may have a different interview process or may interview several candidates
competitively for fewer internship slots. If we are aware that the agency has a different
interview process we will inform you of this and how that will impact the placement
process.
9.
Most students will interview in January and February, although some interviews may be
later.